BCS Playoff: Why the SEC's Proposal Hurts Other Conferences

The SEC, being the supposed rulers of the college football universe, have decided that any playoff proposal should be solely based on record as opposed to actually winning the conference title.

Anybody with any ounce of common sense knows why the SEC wants the playoff to be determined solely by record: so we can have a repeat of the last National Championship game, which was probably the worst bowl game I have ever watched in my life. And I have watched a fair share of truly horrendous games.

Never mind my inherent sense of cynicism, but how would the SEC’s proposal affect the rest of the other conferences not located in the Southeast? And how should this proposal be implemented?

One of the first glaring issues facing the other conferences in the nation is the matter of human polling. I understand that many people do not like computer polls, but simply relying on human polls is incredibly damaging.

The problem lies in the media’s belief that the best competition is in the SEC. If an SEC team loses, the media always gives that team the inevitable benefit of the doubt. The same cannot be said for a team in any other conference. It seems in the media’s eyes that, in order for a non-SEC team to be considered for a place in the National Championship (or in the future, the playoffs), it must go undefeated, which is incredibly hard, especially for a team in a conference like the Big 12.

I single out the Big 12 for two reasons. First, according to computer polls, the Big 12 is the most competitive conference in the country. Second, the media is ignorant of other conferences.

The SEC is actually undermining the concept of a national championship because, just like last season, it would have only regional importance. Just look at the television ratings for last year’s BCS National Championship game: it was one of the worst-rated bowl games since the advent of the BCS system in the late 90s. It is simply bad television to have two teams play a game where the respective offenses are impotent and are shut down by defense.

The perception of the SEC as a defensive powerhouse is to some extent an illusion, because most of the offenses in the SEC (except for Arkansas) are absolutely horrendous compared to other conferences. People want to see a game of contrasting offensive styles and how the defenses react to them.

When speaking about memorable BCS National Championship games, none of them involve the SEC. Hands down the greatest BCS title game, and arguably the greatest game of recent memory, was the 2005 National Championship between USC, going after a third-straight National Championship, and UT. If the SEC has its way, there will be no more drama in the championship game.

Drama is one of the most important facets of the college game. It gives the sport a heart, as opposed to the somewhat robotic Super Bowl, where the event overshadows the game itself. The reason why people watch the BCS National Championship is not because of the event, but because of the game.